3 Myths About Overwhelm That Keep You Running in Circles

I can’t begin to tell you how many business owners I talk to that feel in some way overwhelmed. There is just so much to do and so much to learn about running your business, honing your craft, and navigating the rest of your life that you just want to cry, “Someone stop the world! I want to get off!”

Yet because entrepreneurs are a pioneering, driven crowd, you just keep trying to run faster hoping that once this project, client, business trip, “fill in the blank”, thing is over, THEN things will settle down.

Except, they never do…

From my vantage point of coaching many new and established business owners the reason overwhelm never stops (unless consciously addressed) is because of 3 overarching myths about operating in a state of manic, frantic overwhelm.

Getting Things Done Will Solve the Problem

This is the “once X happens” THEN things will be better illusion. The idea that things will magically ease up after you finish a project or busy season is a fantasy. While it is true that all businesses have peaks and valleys of busyness, the fundamental way you navigate and operate should not be different. Your values, presence, and style are part of your business fundamentals. If you think that you are going to behave differently simply because you complete a project you are fooling yourself. You will take YOU with you into the next day and the next project.

The Situation Will Improve at Some “Mythical Later”

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that they hope things will be better later (simply insert some “later”…aka “after the holidays”, “in January”, “after the kids go back to school”, etc.), I’d be sitting in my cottage on my private island right now.

What makes you think things will be different later? Do you have a sound strategy, plan, and support to make tomorrow different than today?

Or, are you riding the three-legged horse of “hope” into the sunrise praying for a miraculous intervention by some outside forces?

I’m all about making solid business decisions. That means you need to choose based on what you want to create and where you want to go, not from the head-space of the muckety-muck that you are currently sitting in. That often involves being vulnerable, taking a risk, and making an investment to do what you need to do now. Even when (especially when) it feels like a stretch. Waiting and hoping does not equal real change.

It’s About the Stuff You Need to Do

photo credit: Alessandro Pinna via photopin cc

While you may think overwhelm is about all the stuff you need to do, the doing has very little bearing on whether you feel overwhelmed or not. Whether you have one big project to tackle or a million things clamoring for your attention it doesn’t matter. Overwhelm starts and ends inside of YOU. Your choices, boundaries, and personal presence are what dictate the way you navigate each day. You can either set yourself up for success and care for your most valuable asset (YOU) or drive yourself into the ground.

This is where having a plan that incorporates your values and operating principles is so important. If you value peace and creative time but have yourself scheduled to within an inch of your life, you will always be in conflict and at odds with your business. Busting this myths means getting real with yourself and that is most effectively done with a trusted guide to help you see your own blind spots and hold you to what you say you really want.

Action Steps:

Many times throughout the course of being a business owner I have fallen prey to all of these myths, so I know first-hand how they seem like such a logical solution but instead how they lead to a black-hole of no return.

I invite you to check in and ask yourself:

Am I operating under the assumption of one of these myths?

If so, what am I going to do about it?

Be honest and release any judgment you might have about what you’ve been doing up to now. Only you have the power to Stop the Madness!